Lewis Hamilton: Over 40 is the new 30 – oldest GP winner since Brabham in 1970!

Lewis Hamilton is a true veteran: he is one of only ten Grand Prix drivers since 1950 to have won a Formula 1 World Championship race aged over 40. To be precise, the Ferrari star is the oldest GP winner since Jack Brabham at the 1970 South African Grand Prix. The Australian was actually almost 44 years old at the time (43 years, 11 months, 5 days).

An amusing detail: in his final GP season in 1970, Brabham also raced with the number 44 that made Lewis Hamilton world-famous.

Hamilton has thus replaced his English compatriot Nigel Mansell as the oldest British Grand Prix winner, who won in Australia in 1994 at the age of 41 years, 3 months and 5 days. Hamilton is 41 years, 5 months and 7 days old in Barcelona.

The oldest Grand Prix winner is the Italian Luigi Fagioli, who triumphed in France in 1951 at the age of 53 – a record that is likely to stand for the ages. Six of the ten oldest GP winners in the premier class secured their last World Championship race victory in the 1950s.

Top ten oldest GP winners

1. Luigi Fagioli (I), France 1951, 53 years/0 months/22 days

2. Giuseppe Farina (I), Germany 1953, 46 years, 9 months and 3 days

3. Juan Manuel Fangio (RA), Germany 1957, 46 years, 1 month and 11 days

4. Piero Taruffi (I), Switzerland 1952, 45 years, 7 months and 6 days

5. Jack Brabham (Aus), South Africa 1970, 43 years, 11 months and 5 days

6. Sam Hanks (USA), Indianapolis 1957, 42/10/17

7. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Barcelona 2026, 41/5/7

8. Nigel Mansell (GB), Australia 1994, 41/3/5

9. Maurice Trintignant (F), Monaco 1958, 40/6/18

10. Graham Hill (GB), Monaco 1969, 40/3/3

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